What is a full house in poker?
Updated November 2026
A full house is three cards of one rank and two of another, such as three kings and two eights. It's the fourth-best hand in poker: it beats a flush and loses to four of a kind.
Players name it by the three of a kind first, so that hand is "kings full of eights".
| Cards | Three of one rank, two of another |
|---|---|
| Also called | A boat |
| Beats | Flush and below |
| Dealt five cards | 1 in 694 |
| By the river | 1 in 38.5 |
Kings full of eights
How do you compare two full houses?
Look at the three of a kind first. The higher three wins, and the pair doesn't count, so kings full of eights beats queens full of aces.
This is where beginners most often go wrong, because the aces look like the strongest cards on the table.
What if the three of a kind is shared?
Then the pair decides. If the board shows K-K-K-4-2, one player holding a pair of eights beats one holding a pair of sevens. If the pair is on the board too, everyone splits.
How often will you make one?
By the river, about 2.6 times in 100, or 1 time in 38.5. It comes up less often than a flush at 3.0 and a straight at 4.6, though not by much.
Chance of each hand by the river
Every 7-card deal counted
How do you make one in Hold'em?
Most full houses start from a pocket pair or a paired board. Holding a pair, you flop a full house about 1 time in 100, at 0.98%.
If the board pairs and you've got three of a kind, you've probably just made one. The reverse is true too: a board that pairs is the card that turns someone else's three of a kind into a full house, and any flush you were proud of has to worry.
Watch for a paired board
A player holding a seven now has at least three of a kind, and K-7 or 3-3 makes a full house.
Can you tell which hand wins?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask
Why is it called a boat?
Nobody can say for sure. It's a nickname that has stuck among players.
Does a full house beat a flush?
Yes, always. Our page on full house against flush shows why.
Can two pairs and a side card be a full house?
No. You need three cards of one rank. Two pair and a side card is just two pair.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
We counted all 2,598,960 possible five-card hands and all 133,784,560 seven-card deals. The totals match the published tables on Wikipedia's poker probability page. "By the river" assumes you stay in until all five community cards are out, and in a real game you fold most hands long before that.
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